With the upcoming school year drawing nearer, and COVID cases on the rise in Florida, there's been much debate surrounding requiring masks in schools.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on a mission to prevent that from happening, signing an executive order that makes it so parents have the final say if their children mask up or not.
However, a pair of school districts in the state have shown some resistance towards the governor's orders.
Alachua County Public Schools announced late Tuesday night that it would be requiring masks for the first two weeks of school.
In a tweet, the school district said its decision was tied to the "dramatic increases in local COVID cases and hospitalizations, including among children."
The school board will reevaluate its decision in an Aug. 17 meeting.
Further across Florida, the Duval County School Board did not make masks mandatory, technically complying with the DeSantis' order.
However, WTLV reports the school district did add language to its student code of conduct making it a requirement for students to opt out of wearing masks if they choose to do so.
According to the latest report from the Florida Department of Health, children account for about 1 in 5 new COVID-19 cases in Florida.
There were 21,881 new COVID cases in the age range 0-19 in the report. The state provides data for the age range 0-12 and then ages 12-19. Due to the lack of details in the age range, the age demographic can't be determined.
This time last year, the state was looking at roughly 4,900 new cases in the age range of 0-17.